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[quote=Anonymous]"The biggest threat to US Women's Soccer Dominance: European Superclubs"

The article makes the point that many of the European giants (Barca, Juventus, PSG, Bayern, now Real Madrid) are also now increasingly investing in their women's teams.  Because of the enormous financial resources of those clubs, this gives them a huge advantage over the independent women's only teams in the NWSL.  https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-biggest-threat-to-u-s-womens-soccer-dominance-the-european-superclubs-11560420003

I have a theory.  I think Europe as a whole (Scandinavian countries excepted) is at least a generation or two behind America when it comes to girl's equality - especially in sports.  The iconic 1999 USWNT's world cup inspired a generation here - but it was a generation that was already playing.   It may have awoken a generation in Europe.  I say that because they shattered the stereotype that there was some kind of a conflict between being athletic and being feminine.  It made a difference that so many on that team were not only fantastic soccer players - they were also drop dead gorgeous.    So I think there's a whole generation of European soccer-dads whose sisters were highly discouraged from playing for fear of turning into a "tom boy", who now can't wait to get their daughters involved in the sport.  And now that those countries all have their own female heroes and role models to look up to, that process is only accelerating.  Those superclubs aren't getting into women's football to spur change.  Their involvement reflects the change that is already happening.

That's all just a theory, but I'd love to see some stats on the changes in participation #s for girls playing football over the last 30 years in countries like Spain, England, and France.

Other random thought.  Title IX gets a lot of credit for driving America's global success in women's sports - and rightly so - but it's important to remember that we were a country that wanted Title IX.   It's not like it was controversial when passed.  We were already a country that believed girls and women ought to have the same opportunities - in sports and in life - as their male counterparts.  [/quote]

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